The Trouble With Patents

This is a very old article, but because of it, I opened my understanding with the flaws of the world of patents--it's just ridiculous!

I thought it'd be interesting to share:

“The patent system added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.”
—Abraham Lincoln

And then something happened. [...] It took 46 years to reach the 10,000th American patent, but today, there are more than 10,000 patents granted every three weeks.

[...]

Meanwhile, IBM was awarded 2,941 patents in 2005, marking its 13th straight year as the #1 company in volume of patents (it had a much better year in 2004 with 3,248 patents).

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/featur...th_patents.php

Opinon:

Method of Exercising a Cat
"A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct.

Which means that the owner of the stupid patent can sue this guy for getting 2.6m views http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFztjgfDWDA

The 10 Most Ridiculous Inventions Ever Patented | Cracked.com